Filing device.



B. R. BEOBERT & G. E. STUART.

FILING DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 3; 1911.

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E. R. PROBERT 6r, 0. E. ST

v FILING DEVICE. APPLIUATION TILED JUHBS, 19

Patented Dec. 5, 1911.

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V meM lim R. Prafierl (jaw/ M5 Eda/m1 A mara 4 Elam/M 4 UNITED STATES PAELNT ores.

EDWIN a; rnonnn'r AND CHARLES E. s'ruan'r, or CANTON, OHIO.

FILING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 5, 19311.

Application filed June a, 1911. Serial no. 631,049.

To all whom it may concern."

Be it known that we, EDWIN R. Pnonnn'r and CHARLES E. STUART, both citizens of the United States, and both residing at Canton,

in-the county of Stark and State of Ohio,

have invented a new and useful Filing Device, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to improvements in devices for the systematic andconvenient filing and keeping of records in card indexes and the like, and especially to a filing device for record cards wherein the container for said record cards is provided with adjustable supporting plates which not only maintain the record cards in a'substant-ially vertical position at all times,'butpermit the 'removal of a large number of record cards with ut seriously affecting the position of the other cards in the container.

The objects of our invention are to gen erally improve devices of the character mew tioned, to do away with the follower block now commonly used at the rear of the cards to card indexes, to provide for the keeping of record .cards in a substantially vertical position in the containerwhether many or few cards are in said container, to permit the removal of any number of cards from 3Q said container without displacing the remaining cards, and to provide supporting plates for the record cards which will not only be longitudinally adjustable in the container but which will also temporarily lock in position when-tilted outof vertical position. I

' The above objects, together with other objects readily apparent to those skilled in the art, we attain by the construction illustrated 40 in the accompanying drawings, although our invention may be embodied in other forms, the construction illustrated being chosen by way of example.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a card index drawer embodying our invention. Fig. 2 is a perspectiveview of one .of the supporting plates. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view through a card index drawer embodying our invention, said: drawer shown as containing record t-ards, said View being taken on the line 3-8 of Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional "view on the line 44 of Fig. 3. Throughout the several views similar numerals of reference indicate similar parts.

The numeral 1 indicates the front of the drawer which may be made of wood and provided with a pull 2 having a label holding portion 3 if desired. The rear end 4: of the drawer may likewise be made of wood and is preferably provided with an inner face 5 backwardly slanting from bottom to top as illustrated in Fig. 3, said baekwardly slanting face permitting the cards to lie against it in backwardly slanted position as will be well understood by those skilled in the art. The two sides and bottom of the drawer are preferably formed of a single piece of sheet metal, each side being provi led atthe top edge with an outer downturned edge flange 6, an upper horizontal flange 7, an uppervertieallydisposed side portion 8, preferably extending from the flange 7 downwardly substantially one-half of the depth of the drawer, where the internediate flange 9 extends outward horizontally,from the outer edge of which the integral' lower side portion 10 extends vcrtically down to the integral bottom ll. It will thus be noted that the upper side portion 8 and the.lower side portion 10 on each side \of the drawer are offset from each other, the

portions 8 being offset inwardly, from the portions 10.

Along the top edge of the upper sideportions 8 are'arranged the holding slots 12, the various slots being separated by intermediate stop portions 13 of considerably less longitudinal dimension than the slots be tween which they are, arranged. It will be understood that the slots 12 are arranged in oppositely disposed pairs in the two sides of the drawer so that the stop portions 13 are arranged in transversely disposed pairs from front to rear of the drawer.

Each. supporting plate 1 L comprises a main body portion, preferably formed of sheet metal, of a Width such that it will freely enter between the upper side portions 8, and of a'height substantially equal to the height of the two sides of the drawer, or extending slightly above the same, as illustrated in the drawings. The upper lugs 15 are formed integrally with the plate and extend laterally in the same plane with the plate, said lugs being adapted to be anranged within the slots 12' on the two sides of the drawer. The lower lugs 16 are also formed integrally with the body of the plate and extend laterally in the same-plane with the said body of the plate, and are adapted to be disposed immediately under the flange agonal position of the plate within the drawer is attained such as to enable the lugs 15 and 16 to clear the edges of the slots 12 and the flanges 9. Then the plate is transversely disposed or substantially transversely disposed in the drawer, however, the lugs 15 will remain within the slots 12 and will be limited in their movements by the edges of said slots, the stop portions 13 prevenhing the various plates from undue longitudinal sliding movement within the drawer, and the flanges 9 being engaged by the lugs 16 when the plate is tilted out of the true horizontal position.

One of the supporting plates; should usually be provided for each pair of holding slots, but it will be understood that more than one supporting plate for each pair of slots may be arranged in the drawer as cir-' eumstances may suggest. a

When the drawer has been supplied with its supporting plates it will be noted that each plate is free to slide longitudinally within the limits of the slots 12 within which its lugs 15 are arranged but that when the plate is tilted the lugs 16 will be thrown up wardly against the flanges 9 and the lugs 15 will be brought downwardly into engagement with the lower sides of the slots 12, thereby locking the plate against further longitudinal sliding movement, and permitting it to stand in a slightly inclined position.

In Fig. 31 have indicated the various supporting plates from front to rear by the letters A, B, O, D, E and F. The numeral 17 indicates the cards of the card index arranged between the various plates. Between the plates C and D and between the plates D and E the cards have been removed and the plate C has thereupon fallen slightly backwardly at the top out of true vertical position and has locked against longitudinal sliding movement, the cards in front of said plate resting against the same and the-plates A and B assuming positions corresponding to the plate 0. The plate D, being free from any pressure of contents of the drawer hangs in vertical position and may be freely slidably moved backwardly, it being substantially at the forward ends of its holding slots. Some of the cards immediately back of the plate E have been drawn-"forward against said plate and said plate has assumed a frontwardly inclined position, whereupon its integral lugs have locked it against longitudinal sliding movement as has been hereinbefore described, thus providing a substantial support for cards to rest against in forwardly inclined position, but being readily moved forwardly within its limits of sliding movement, if desired, by bringing said plate and cards into a slightly more vertical position, and thus unlocking the lugs from the edges of the slots 12 and the flange 9:

It should Bfmourse be understood that while the plates have been described as looking in position when tilted, such locking is merely temporary and frictional, the locking effect being only sufficient to withstand the weight of the cards against the platesin their tilted positions, and preventsaid plates from sliding longitudinally.

In this way when cards have been removed, as they have been from between the plates C and and D and E in Fig. 3, the spaces from which they have been removed will be su'stanti'ally maintained by reason of the lock g of the adjacent supporting plates, thus permitting the cards to be replaced in the drawer with much greater convenience than where the cards remainingin the drawer when a portion of them have been removed are permitted to fall together in the manner common in devices of this character not embodying our invention.

It will be noted from an inspection of Fig. i that the edge flanges 6 and the lower side portions 10 lie in substantially the same vertical planes, and that the said flanges 6 and the flanges 7 serve to cover and protect the lugs 15 projecting through the slots 12. In this way a smooth outer surface is presented, preventing any catching of protruding portions when the drawer is moved into or out of its containing cabinet.

\Vhile we have illustrated and more particularly described our invention as relating to a card index drawer it will be understood that any sort of container embodying our invention may be employed. It should also be noted that the device may be made entirely of sheet metal, the wooden front and back not being used.

V Various other modifications of detail, form and design may be substituted for that shown and described without departing from normally vertical supporting lates in said container, each plate adapted or independent slidable movement frontwardly and rearwardly in said container, means for limiting the sliding movement of each plate and means adapted to temporarily lock each plate against sliding movement when said plate is tilted outof the vertical position.

3. A filing device comprising a container, and a longitudinal series of transversely disposed supporting plates arranged in said container, each plate adapted for'independent movement toward and away from adjacent plates of the series, means for limiting the movement of adjacent plates toward and away from each other and means for temporarily locking each plate against movement toward or away from adjacent plates when said plate is tilted out of its normal plane. 4

4. A filing device comprising a container provided with sides, said sides provided with limiting slots and flanges and a longi tudinal series of supporting plates provided with upper lugs and lower lugs, said upper lugs adapted to be arranged in said limiting slots and said lower lugs adaptedfor engagement with said flanges, each of said plates being adapted for limited longitudinal sliding movement within said container and said lugs adapted to engage the sides of said slots and said flanges respectively when said plates are tilted.

5. A filing device comprising a container provided with sides, each side provided at the top edge with an outer downturned edge flange, an upper horizontal flange, an upper, vertically disposed side portion extending from said horizontal flange downwardly, an intermediate flange extending from the lower edge of said upper sideportion outward horizontally, and a lower side portion extending from the outer limit of said 111- termediate flange downwardly, each of said sides provided along its top edge with a longitudinal series of holding slots, the slots in the two sides of the container arranged in oppositely disposed pairs, a longitudinal series of transversely disposed, normally 

